Shown below is a copy of a draft of Kansas Science Education
Standards circulated by a Science Writing Team in December 2000. The
copy was first generated with an optical character reader, then converted to WordPerfect
format, and finally converted to html format. Formating, spelling, pagination and other
features have not in all cases been transferred faithfully.
Accordingly, IDnet does not attest to the absolute accuracy of the
text or the description of the document.

The writing committee dedicates the Kansas Science Education Standards to all
Kansas students. Our students arc the future of Kansas. With this document, we
pass on the legacy of our own teachers, who helped us to know that as lifelong
learners of science, we can live more productive, responsible, and fulfillment.

The mission of science education in Kansas is to
utilize science as a vehicle to prepare all students as lifelong learners who
can use science to make reasoned decisions, contributing to their local, state,
and international communities.

Vision Statement

All students, regardless of gender, cultural
or ethnic background, future aspirations or interest and motivation in science,
should have the opportunity to attain high levels of scientific literacy.

(Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project, 1996,
T-7)

The educational system must prepare the citizens
of Kansas to meet the challenges of the 21st century. With this in mind, the
intent for the Kansas Science Education Standards can be expressed in a single
phrase: Science standards for all students. The phrase embodies both excellence
and equity. These standards apply to all students, regardless of age, gender,
cultural or ethnic background, disabilities, aspirations, or interest and
motivation in science.

By emphasizing both excellence and equity, these
standards also highlight the need to give students the opportunity to experience
science to learn science. Students can achieve high levels of performance with:

• access to skilled professional teachers;

• adequate classroom time;

• a rich array of learning material;

• accommodating work spaces; and

• the resources of the communities surrounding
their schools.

Responsibility for providing this support falls
on all those involved with the system of education in Kansas.

Inquiry is central to science learning. These
standards call for more than "science as a process," in which students
learn discrete skills such as observing, inferring, and experimenting. When
engaging in inquiry, students describe objects and events, ask questions,
construct explanations, test those explanations against current scientific
knowledge, and communicate their ideas to others. They identify their
assumptions, use critical and logical thinking, and consider alternative
explanations, In this way, students actively develop their understanding of
science by combining scientific knowledge with reasoning and thinking skills.
They also experience first-hand the thrill and excitement of science. As a
result of such experiences, students will be empowered to add to the growing
body of scientific knowledge.

The importance of inquiry does not imply that
all teachers should pursue a single approach to teaching science. Just as
inquiry has many different facets, so do teachers need to use many different
strategies to develop the understandings and abilities described here. These
standards rest on the premise that science is an active process. Science is
something that students and adults do, not something that is done to them.

TheKansas Science
Education Standards:

• Provide criteria that Kansas educators and
stakeholders can use to judge whether particular actions will serve the vision
of a scientifically literate society.

• Bring coordination, consistency, and
coherence to the improvement of science education.

• Advocate that science education must be
developmentally appropriate and reflect a systemic, progressive approach
throughout the elementary, middle, and high school years.

These standards should not be viewed as a state
curriculum nor as requiring a specific local curriculum. A curriculum is the way
content is organized and presented in the classroom. The content embodied in
these standards, can be organized and presented with many different emphases and
perspectives in many different curricula.

Purpose of this Document

These standards, benchmarks, indicators, and
examples are designed to assist Kansas educators in selecting and developing
local curricula, carrying out instruction, and assessing students' progress.
Also, they will serve as the foundation for the development of state assessments
in science. Finally, these standards, benchmarks, indicators, and examples
represent high, yet reasonable, expectations for all students.

Students may need further support in and beyond
the regular classroom to attain these expectations. Teachers, school
administrators, parents, and other community members should be provided with the
professional development and leadership resources necessary to enable them to
help all students work toward meeting or exceeding these expectations.

Background Information

The original Kansas Curricular Standards for
Science were drafted in 1992, approved by the Kansas State Board of Education in
1993, and up-dated in 1995. Although all of this work occurred prior to the
release of the National Science Education Standards in 1996, the original Kansas
standards reflect early work on the national standards. At the August, 1997
meeting of the Kansas State Board of Education, the Board directed that academic
standards committees composed of stakeholders from throughout Kansas should be
convened in each curriculum area defined by Kansas law (reading, writing,
mathematics, science, and social studies).

The science committee was charged to:

1. Bring greater clarity and specificity to what
teachers should teach and students should learn at the various grade levels.

2. Review current state curricular standards.

3. Prioritize the standards to be assessed by
the state assessments.

4. Provide advice regarding assessment
methodologies.

Acknowledgment of Prior Work

Carrying out this charge, the writing committee
built upon and benefitted from a great deal of prior work done on a national
level. Two principal expressions of a unified vision and content for science
education exist. One is the National Science Education Standards
published by the National Research Council, the second is Benchmarks for
Science Literacy from Project 2061 of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science. According to representatives of both groups, the vision
and content overlap by at least 80%. These standards embrace the vision and
content of the National Science Education Standards (National Research
Council, 1996) and Benchmark's for Science Literacy (Project 2061 AAAS.
1993). Therefore, the Kansas Science Education Standards are founded
not only oil the research base but also on the work of over 18,000 scientists.
science educators. teachers, school administrators and parents across the
country, that produced national standards as the school district teams and
thousands of individuals who contributed to the benchmarks. Thus, the Kansas
Science Education Standards arc consistent with both expressions of a
unified vision for science education. Moreover the National Science Teachers
Association recently published elementary, middle, and high school editions of Pathways
to the Science Standards. The pathways documents provide a framework for
aligning The Kansas Science Education Standards with national
standards. All of the above mentioned documents contain many resources and
teaching applications for further development of the ideas presented in the Kansas
Science Education Standards. Permission to use specific segments of text in
the Kansas Science Education Standards has been requested from the
National Research Council, the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, the National Science Teachers Association, and other sources of text
and diagrams.

Nature of Science

Science is the human activity of seeking natural
explanations for what we observe in the world around us. Science does so through
the use of observation, experiment, and logical argument while maintaining
strict empirical standards and healthy skepticism. Scientific explanations are
built on observations, hypotheses, theories. A hypothesis is a testable
statement about the natural world that can be used to build more complexinferences
and explanations. A theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of
the natural world that can incorporate observations, inferences. and tested
hypotheses. Scientific explanations must meet certain criteria.

Scientific explanations arc consistent with
experimental and/or observational data and testable v scientists through
additional experimentation and/or observation. Scientific explanation must meet
criteria that govern the repeatability of observations and experiments. The
effect of these criteria is to insure that scientific explanations about the
World are open to criticism and that they will be modified or abandoned in favor
of new explanations if empirical evidence so warrants. Because all scientific
explanations depend oil observational and experimental confirmation, all
scientific knowledge is. in principle. subject to change as new evidence becomes
available. The core theories of science have been subjected to a wide variety of
confirmations and have a high degree of reliability within the limits to which
they have been tested. In areas where data or understanding are incomplete, new
data may lead to changes in current theories or resolve current conflicts. In
situations where information is still fragmentary, it is normal for scientific
ideas to be incomplete, but this is also where the opportunity for making
advances may be greatest. Science has flourished in different regions during
different time periods, and in history diverse cultures have contributed
scientific knowledge and technological inventions. Changes in scientific
knowledge usually occur as gradual modifications, but the scientific enterprise
also experiences periods of rapid advancement. The daily work of science and
technology results in incremental advances in our understanding of the world
about us.

Teaching With Tolerance and Respect

Science studies natural phenomena by formulating
explanations that can be tested against the natural world. Some scientific
concepts and theories (e.g. blood transfusion, human sexuality, nervous system
role in consciousness. cosmological and biological evolution, etc.) may conflict
with the teachings of a student's religious community or their cultural beliefs.
A science teacher has the responsibility to improve students understanding of
scientific processes, concepts, and theories. However, science should not be
taught dogmatically. Compelling student belief is inconsistent with and in
conflict with the goal of education.

A teacher is an important role model for
demonstrating respect. sensitivity, and civility. Teachers should not ridicule,
belittle or embarrass a student for expressing an alternative view or belief. In
doing this, teachers display and demand tolerance and respect for the diverse
ideas, skills, and experiences of all students. If a student should raise a
question in a natural science class that the teacher determines to be outside
the domain of science, the teacher should treat the question with respect. The
teacher should explain why the question is outside the domain of natural science
and encourage the student to discuss the question further with his or her family
and other appropriate source.

Nothing in the Kansas Statutes Annotated or the
Kansas State Board Regulations allows students (or their parents) to excuse
class attendance based on disagreement with the curriculum, except as specified
for 1) any activity which is contrary to the religious teachings of the child or
for 2) human sexuality education. (See Kansas Statues Annotated 1111d
and State Board Regulations 91-31-3:(g)(2).)

A Perspective on Changing Emphases

The central nature of inquiry in learning
science reflects substantive changes-steps forward-from the previous Kansas
Curricular Standards for Science, last updated in 1995. The Kansas
Science Education Standards envision change throughout the system of Kansas
education. These standards reflect the following changes in emphases, as shown
in the chart below:

• Emphasis on individual process skills
such as observation or inference taken out of context.

• Using multiple process skills such as
manipulation, cognitive, and procedural skills in the context of inquiry.

• Getting an answer.

• Using evidence and strategies for
developing or revising an explanation.

• Individuals and groups of students
analyzing and synthesizing data without defending a conclusion.

• Groups of students often analyzing and
synthesizing data and defending conclusions.

• Teachers providing answers to questions
about science content.

• Students building and communicating
scientific explanations.

To help readers grasp the extent of changing
emphases presented in the chart immediately above, the writing committee has
included two sections from the prior Kansas standards in the appendices. Readers
can find the Science Process Skills defined in Appendix 4 and the Diagram
Explanation for the Science Standards in Appendix 2. Regarding science process
skills, these standards call for substantive change, for a decrease in emphasis
on implementing inquiry as a set of isolated process skills, with a simultaneous
increase on implementing inquiry as instructional strategies, ideas, and
abilities to be learned. Close examination of the chart above reveals that
science processes remain important, as they should. But, in these standards,
students acquire proficiency in science processes within the context of learning
to do scientific inquiry. This requires students to develop their abilities to
think scientifically. To encourage a uniform understanding of what this means,
the writing committee has also included a diagram on the Scientific Thinking
Processes in Appendix 3.

Organization of the Kansas
Science Education Standards

Each standard in the main body of the document
contains a series of benchmarks, which describe what students should know and be
able to do at the end of a certain point in their education (e.g., grade 2, 4,
8, 1 0). Each benchmark contains a series of indicators, which identify what it
means for students to meet a benchmark. Indicators are frequently followed by
examples, which are specific, concrete ideas or illustrations of the standards
writers' intent.

Standards

There are seven standards for science. These
standards are general statements of what students should know, understand, and
be able to do in the natural sciences over the course of their K-12 education.
The seven standards are interwoven ideas, not separate entities, thus. they
should be taught as interwoven ideas, not as separate entities. These standards
are clustered for grade levels K-2, 3-4, 5-8, and 6-12.

1. Science as Inquiry

2. Physical Science

3. Life Science

4. Earth and Space Science

5. Science and Technology

6. Science in Personal and Environmental
Perspectives

7. History and Nature of Science

Benchmarks

These are specific statements of what students
should know and be able to do at a specified point in their schooling.
Benchmarks are used to measure students' progress toward meeting a standard. In
these standards, benchmarks are defined for grades 2,4, 8, and 10.

Indicators

These are statements of the knowledge or skills
which students demonstrate in order to meet a benchmark, Indicators are critical
to understanding the standards and benchmarks and are to be met by all students.
The set of indicators listed under each benchmark is not listed in priority
order, nor should the list be considered as all-inclusive. The list of
indicators and examples should be considered as representative but not as
comprehensive or all-inclusive.

Examples

Two kinds of examples are presented. An
instructional example offers an activity or a specific concrete instance of an
idea of what is called for by an indicator. A clarifying example provides an
illustration of the mean or intent of an indicator. Like the indicators
themselves, examples are considered to be representative but not comprehensive
or all-inclusive.

Keying the Standards to the Kansas
Science Assessment

Readers should notice that selected indicators
beneath standards have a box containing a number immediately to the left of the
number of the indicator. The presence of such an internally numbered box be-side
an indicator means that the writing committee has designated this indicator for
emphasis on the new Kansas Science Assessment, which will be developed to assess
these standards. Thus, a box with the number "4" inside represents an
indicator to be emphasized on the Grade 4 Kansas Science Assessment. Similarly,
boxes with the numbers "T' or "10" inside represent indicators to
be emphasized on the Grade 7 and Grade 10 Kansas Science Assessments,
respectively. None of the indicators designated by a boxed-10 will assume
competency through the second semester of grade 10. Finally, readers should know
that the number represents the first point at which a particular indicator will
be assessed. The same indicator may also be included on later assessments.

Unifying Concepts and Processes in the Kansas
Science Education Standards

Science is traditionally, a discipline-centered
activity; however, broad, unifying concepts and processes exist which cut across
the traditional disciplines of science. Five such concepts and processes have
been embedded within and across the seven standards listed below. These broad
unifying concepts and processes complement the analytic, more discipline-based
perspectives presented in the other content standards. Moreover, they provide
students with productive and insightful ways of thinking about integrating a
range of basic ideas that explain the world about us, including what occurs
naturally as well as what is built by humans through science and technology. The
embedded unifying concepts and processes named and described below are a subset
of the many unifying ideas in science and technology, These were selected from
the National Science Education Standards because they provide connections
between and among traditional scientific disciplines, arc fundamental and
comprehensive, are understandable and usable by people who will implement
science programs, and can be expressed and experienced in a developmentally
appropriate manner during K-12 science education.

Systems, Order, and Organization:
The world about us is complex, it is too large and complicated to investigate
and comprehend all at once. Scientists and students learn to define small
portions for the convenience of investigations. The units of investigation can
be referred to as systems, where a system is an organized group of related
objects or components that form a whole. Systems are categorized as open,
closed, or isolated, and can consist of organisms, machines, fundamental
particles, galaxies, ideas, numbers, transportation and education Systems have
boundaries, components, resources, flow (input and output), and feedback.
Order-the behavior of units of matter objects, organisms, or events in the
universe - can be described statistically. Probability is the relative certainty
(or uncertainty) that individuals can assign to selected events happening (or
not happening) in a specified space or time. In science, reduction of
uncertainty occurs through such processes as the development of knowledge about
factors influencing objects, organisms, systems, or events; better and more
observations; and better explanatory models. Types and levels of organization
provide. useful ways of thinking about the world. Types of organization include
the periodic table of elements and the classification of organisms. Physical
systems can be described at different levels of organization-such as fundamental
particles, atoms, and molecules. Living systems also have different levels of
organization-for example, cells, tissues, organs, organisms, populations, and
communities.

Evidence, Models, and Explanation:
Evidence consists of observations and empirical data on which to base scientific
explanations. Using evidence to understand interactions allows individuals to
predict changes in naturally occurring systems and systems built by humans.
Models are tentative schemes or structures that correspond to real objects,
events, or classes of events, and have explanatory, and predictive power. Models
help scientists and engineers understand how things work. Models take many
forms, including physical objects, plans, mental constructs, mathematical
equations, and computer simulations. Scientific explanations incorporate
existing scientific knowledge and new evidence from observations, experiments,
or models into internally consistent, logical statements. Different terms, such
as hypothesis, model, law, principle, theory, and paradigm are
used to describe various types of scientific explanations.

Constancy, Change, and Measurement:
Although most things are in the process of becoming different-changing-some
properties of objects and processes are characterized by constancy (e.g., speed
of light, charge of an electron, total mass plus energy in the universe),
Changes might occur, for example, in properties of materials, position of
objects, motion, and form and function of systems. Interactions within and among
systems result in change. Changes vary in rate, scale, and pattern, including
trends and cycles. Equilibrium is a physical state in which forces and changes
occur in opposite and off-setting directions. For example, opposite forces are
of the same magnitude, or off-setting changes occur at equal rates. Steady
state, balance, and homeostasis also describe equilibrium states, Interacting
units of matter tend toward equilibrium states in which the energy is
distributed as randomly and uniformly as possible. Changes in systems can be
quantified, and evidence for interactions and subsequent change and the
formulation of scientific explanations are often clarified through quantitative
distinctions-measurement. All measurements are approximations, and the accuracy
and precision of measurement depend on equipment, technology, and technique used
during observations. Mathematics is essential for accurately, measuring change.
Different systems of measurement are used for different purposes.. Scientists
usually use the metric system. An important part of measurement is knowing when
to use which system. For example a meteorologist might use degrees Fahrenheit
when reporting the weather to the public, but in writing scientific reports, the
meteorologist would use degrees Celsius.

Patterns of Cumulative Change:
Accumulated changes through time, sonic gradual and sonic sporadic, account for
the present form and function of objects, organisms, and natural systems. The
general idea is that the present arises from materials and forms of the past. An
example of cumulative change is the biological theory of evolution, which
explains the process of descent with modification of organisms from common
ancestors. Additional examples are continental drift, which is part of plate
tectonic theory, fossilization, and erosion. Patterns of cumulative change also
help to describe the current structure of the universe.

Form and Function: Form and
function are complementary aspects of objects. organisms, and systems. The form
or shape of all object or system is frequently related to use, operation, or
function. Function frequently relies oil form. Understanding of form and
function applies to different levels of organization. Form and function can
explain each other.

On the following page, K-12 overview of science
content is presented within the seven standards. At the beginning of the 4th (p.
Xx), 8th (p. xx), and 12th (p. xx) grade standards. the overview of science
content for that section within the seven standards is connected to the unifying
concepts and processes.

By The End Of SECOND GRADE

STANDARD 1: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY

As a result of the activities in grades K-2, all
students will experience science as full inquiry. In elementary grades, students
begin to develop the physical and intellectual abilities of scientific inquiry.

Benchmark 1: All students will be involved in activities that will
develop skills necessary to conduct scientific inquiries. These
activities will involve asking a simple question, completing an investigation,
answering the question, and presenting the results to others. Not every activity
will involve all of these stages nor must any particular sequence of these
stages be followed.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Identify characteristics of objects.

Example: States characteristics of leaves, shells. water,
and air.

4 2. Classify and arrange groups of objects by a variety of characteristics

Example: Group seeds by color. texture, size, group objects
by whether they float or sink, group rocks by texture, color, and hardness.

As a result of the activities for grades K-2, all students will have a
variety of experiences that provide understandings for various science-related
personal and environmental challenges. This standard should be integrated with
physical science, life science, and earth and space science standards.

Benchmark 1: All students will demonstrate responsibility for their
own health. Health encompasses safety, personal hygiene, exercise, and
nutrition.

Indicators: The students will:

1. Discuss that safety and security are basic human needs.

Examples: Discuss the need to obey traffic signals, the use
of crosswalks, and the danger of talking to strangers.

Example: Cut out pictures of foods and sort into healthy and
not healthy groups.

STANDARD 7: HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE

As a result of the activities for grades K-2, all students will experience
scientific inquiry and learn about people from history. This standard should be
integrated with physical science, life science, and earth and space science
standards.

Benchmark 1: All students will know they practice science.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Be involved in explorations that make them wonder and know that they are
practicing science.

Examples: Observe what happens when you place a banana or an
orange (with and without the skin), or a crayon in water. Observe what happens
when you hold an M&M, a chocolate chip, or a raisin in your hand. Note the
changes. Observe what happens when you rub your hands together very fast.

2. Use technology to learn about people in science.

Examples: Read short stories, and view films or videos.
Invite parents who are involved in science as guest speakers.

By The End Of FOURTH GRADE

Overview of Science Standards K-4

Systems, Order & Organization Evidence, Models and Explanations

Change, Constancy, & Measurement Patterns of Cumulative Change

Form & Function

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY

Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understanding about and
participating in scientific inquiry

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Properties of objects and materials Position and motion of objects

Electricity and magnetism Sound

LIFE SCIENCE

Organisms and their environments

Life cycles of organisms

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE

Properties of Earth materials

Objects in the sky

Changes in Earth and sky

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Problem solving skills Apply understandings of science and

Abilities to distinguish between natural technology

and human-made objects

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES

Personal health Changes in surroundings

HISTORY & NATURE of SCIENCE

People practice science

STANDARD 1: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY

As a result of the activities in grades 3-4, all students will experience
science as inquiry. Full inquiry involves asking a simple question, completing
an investigation, answering the question, and sharing results with others.

Benchmark 1: All students will develop the skills necessary to do
full inquiry. Inquiry involves asking a simple question, completing an
investigation, answering the question, and sharing the results with others. Not
every activity will involve all of these stages nor must any particular
sequences of these stages be followed. Students can design investigations to
explore and observe changes in variables.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Ask questions that they can answer by investigating.

Example: Will the size of the opening on a container change
the rate of evaporation of liquids? How much water will a sponge hold?

4 2. Plan and conduct a simple investigation.

Example: Design a test of the wet strength of paper towels;
experiment with plant growth; experiment to find ways to prevent soil erosion.

4 3. Employ appropriate equipment and tools to gather data.

Example: Use a balance to find the mass of the wet paper
towel, use meter sticks to measure the flight distance of a paper air plane; use
the same size containers to compare evaporation rates of different liquids.

4 4. Begin developing the abilities to communicate, critique, and analyze
their own investigations and interpret the work of other students.

As a result of the activities in grades 3-4, students will be given
opportunities to increase their understanding of the properties of objects and
materials that they encounter on a daily basis. Students will compare, describe,
and sort these materials by properties.

Benchmark 1: All students will develop skills to describe objects. Through
observation, manipulation, and classification of common objects, children
reflect on the similarities and differences of the objects.

Example: Observe and record the size, weight, shape, color,
and temperature of objects using balances, thermometers, and other measurement
tools.

4 2. Classify objects by the materials from which they are made.

Example: Group a set of objects by the materials from which
they are made.

4 3. Describe objects by more than one property.

Example: Observe that an object could be hard, round, and
rough. Sort objects by two or more properties.

4 4. Observe and record how one object reacts with another object or
substance.

Example: Mix baking soda and vinegar and record
observations.

4 5. Recognize and describe the differences between solids and liquids.

Example: Observe differences between a stick of butter, a
chocolate bar, or ice as a solid and melted as a liquid. Observe that solids
have a shape of their own and liquids take the shape of their container, observe
differences between an inflated and a deflated balloon.

Benchmark 2: All students will describe the movement of objects.
Students begin to observe the position and movement of objects when they
manipulate objects by pushing, pulling, throwing, dropping, and rolling them.

Indicators: The students will:

1. Move objects by pushing, pulling, throwing, spinning, dropping, and
rolling, and describe the motion. Observe that a force (a push or a pull) is
applied to make objects move.

Example: Spin or roll a variety of objects on various
surfaces.

4 2. Describe locations of objects.

Example: Describe locations as up, down, in front, or
behind.

Benchmark 3: All students will recognize and demonstrate what makes
sounds. The concept of sound is very abstract. However, by
investigating a variety of sounds made by common objects, students can form a
connection between sounds the objects make and the materials from which the
objects are made. Plastic objects make a different sound than do wooden objects.

Indicators: The students will:

1. Discriminate between sounds made by different objects.

Example: Listen and compare the sounds make by drums and
other musical instruments, such as cans, gourds, plastic spoons, pennies, and
plastic disks. Sort a group of objects according to the sounds they make when
they're dropped.

Benchmark 4: All students will experiment with electricity and
magnetism. Students will develop the concept that electrical circuits
require a complete loop through which an electric current can pass. Magnets
attract and repel each other and certain kinds of other materials.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Demonstrate that magnets attract and repel.

4 2. Design a simple experiment to determine whether various objects will be
attracted to magnets.

4 3. Construct a simple circuit.

Example: Use a battery, bulb, and wire to light a bulb, make
a motor run, produce sound, or make an electromagnet.

STANDARD 3: LIFE SCIENCE

As a result of the activities for grades 3-4, all students will develop an
understanding of biological concepts through direct experience with living
things, their life cycles, and their habitats.

Benchmark 1: All students will develop a knowledge of organisms in
their environment. The study of organisms will include observations and
interactions within the natural world of the child.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Compare and contrast structural characteristics and functions of
different organisms.

Example: Compare the structures for movement of a meal worm
to the structures for movement of a guppy. Compare the leaf structures of a
sprouted bean seed to the leaf structures of a corn seed.

4 2. Compare basic needs of different organisms in their environment.

Example: Compare the basic needs of a guinea pig to the
basic needs of a tree.

3. Discuss ways humans and other organisms use their senses in their
environments.

Example: Compare how people and other living organisms get
food, seek shelter, and defend themselves.

Benchmark 2: All students will observe and illustrate the life cycles
of various organisms. Plants and animals have life cycles that include
being born, developing into adults, reproducing, and eventually dying. Young
organisms develop into adults that are similar to their parents.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Compare, contrast, and ask questions about the life cycles of various
organisms.

Example: Plant a seed and observe and record its growth.
Observe and record the changes of an insect as it develops from birth to adult.

STANDARD 4: EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE

As a result of the activities for grades 3-4, all students will observe
objects, materials, and changes in their environment, note their properties,
distinguish one from another, and develop their own explanations of how things
become the way they are.

Benchmark 1: All students will develop an understanding of the
properties of earth materials. Earth materials may include rock, soil,
and water. Playgrounds or parks are convenient study sites to observe.

Indicators: The students will:

1. Observe a variety of earth materials in their environment.

Examples: Observe rocks, soil, sand, air, and water.

4 2. Collect, observe, and become aware of properties of various soils.

Example: Students could bring in samples of soils from their
surroundings and observe color, texture, and reaction to water.

4 3. Experiment with a variety of soils.

Example: By planting seeds in a variety of soil samples,
students can compare the effect of different soils on plant growth.

4 4. Describe properties of many different kinds of rocks.

Example: Bring rocks from the playground, immerse in water,
and observe color, texture, and reaction to liquids.

5. Observe fossils and discuss how fossils provide evidence of plants and
animals that lived long ago. A fossil is a part of a once-living organism or a
trace of an organism preserved in rock.

Example: Observe a variety of fossils.

Benchmark 2: All students will observe and describe objects in the
sky. The sun, moon, stars, clouds, birds, and other objects such as
airplanes have properties that can be observed and compared.

Indicators: The students will:

1. Observe the moon and stars.

Example: Sketch the position of the moon in relation to a
tree, rooftop, or building.

2. Observe and compare the length of shadows.

Example: Students can observe the movement of an object's
shadow during the course of a day, or construct simple sundials.

4 3. Discuss that the sun provides light and heat to maintain the temperature
of the earth.

Example: When on the playground and the sun goes behind a
cloud, discuss why it seems cooler.

Benchmark 3: All students will develop skills necessary to describe
changes in the earth and weather. If the students revisit a study site
regularly, they will develop an understanding that the earth's surface and
weather are constantly changing.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Describe changes in the surface of the earth.

Example: Students will observe erosion and changes in plant
growth at a study site.

As a result of the activities for grades 3-4, all students will have a
variety of educational experiences which involve science and technology. They
will begin to understand the design process, which includes this general
sequence: state the problem, the design, and the solution. As with the Science
as Inquiry Standard, not every activity will involve all five stages. Students
will develop the ability to solve simple design problems that are appropriate
for their developmental level.

Benchmark 1: All students will work with a technology design as a
part of a classroom challenge.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Identify a simple design problem; design a plan, implement the plan,
evaluate the results and communicate the results.

Examples: Challenge the students to develop a better
bubble-making solution using detergent, glycerin, and water; try different kinds
of tools for making the biggest bubbles or the longest lasting bubbles.

Benchmark 2: All students will apply their understanding about
science and technology. Children's abilities in technological problem
solving can be developed by firsthand experience in tackling tasks with a
technological purpose, such as identifying what problems these designs involve.
They can study technological products and systems in their world: zippers, coat
hooks, can openers, bridges, paper clips.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Discuss that science is a way of investigating questions about their
world.

Examples: Why was a zipper designed? What problem did the
zipper solve? How has the zipper improved our lives? How is velcro like a
zipper? What problem does velcro solve? How has velcro improved our lives?

4 2. Invent a product to solve problems.

Examples: Invent a new use for old products; potato masher,
strainer, carrot peeler, or 2-liter pop bottle. Use a juice, 2 liter pop bottle
or one-half gallon milk jug to invent something useful. Invent a way to keep the
garbage container lid from falling on your head when you dump the trash.

3. Work together to solve problems.

Example: Share ideas about solving a problem.

4. Develop an awareness that women and men of all ages, backgrounds, and
ethnic groups engage in a variety of scientific and technological work.

Example: Interview parents and other community and school
workers.

5. Investigate how scientists use tools to observe.

Examples: Engage in research on the Internet; interview the
weatherman; conduct research in the library; call or visit a laboratory.

Benchmark 3: All students will distinguish between natural and
human-made objects. Some objects occur in nature; others have been
designed and made by people to solve human problems and enhance the quality of
life.

3. Ask questions about natural or human-made objects and discuss the
reasoning behind their answers.

Example: The teacher will ask, "Is this a human-made
object? Why do you think so?" When observing a natural or human-made
object, the child will be asked the reasoning behind his/her answer.

STANDARD 6: SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES

As a result of the activities for grades 3-4, all students will demonstrate
personal health and environmental practices. A variety of experiences will be
provided to understand various scientific-related personal and environmental
challenges. This standard should be integrated with physical science, life
science, and earth and space science standards.

Benchmark 1:All students will develop an
understanding of personal health. Personal health involves physical and
mental well being, including hygienic practices, and self-respect.

Example: Read and compare nutrition information found on
labels; discuss healthy foods;. make a healthy snack.

Benchmark 2: All students will demonstrate an awareness of
changes in the environment. Through classroom discussions, students can begin to
recognize pollution as an environmental issue. scarcity as a resource issue, and
crowded classrooms or schools as a population issue.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Define pollution.

Example: Take a pollution walk, gathering examples of litter
and trash.

4 2. Develop personal actions to solve pollution problems in and around the
neighborhood.

Example: After the pollution walk, children could work in
groups to solve pollution problems they observed.

3 . Practice reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Examples: Present the problem that paper is being wasted in
the classroom. Students could meet and form a plan to resolve this problem.

STANDARD 7: HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE

As a result of the activities for grades 3-4, all students will experience
some things about scientific inquiry and learn about people from history.
Experiences of investigating and thinking about explanations, not memorization,
will provide fundamental ideas about the history and nature of science. Students
will observe and compare, pose questions, gather data and report findings.
Posing questions and reporting findings are human activities that all students
are able to understand. This standard should be integrated with physical
science, life science. and earth and space science standards.

Benchmark 1: All students will develop an awareness that people
practice science. Science and technology have been practiced by people
for a long time. Children and adults can derive great pleasure from doing
science. They. can investigate, construct, and experience science. Individuals,
as well as groups of students, can conduct investigations.

Indicators: The students will:

4 1. Recognize that they participate in science inquiry.

Examples: What will happen if a plant is under light for different lengths of
time Challenge students to design an investigation to determine the
"best" paper towel. Insist they define "best". Challenge
students to find out if a jaw breaker dissolves quicker in water or some other
kind of liquid.

4 2 . Observe, using various media, historical samples of people in science
who have made contributions.

Examples: Read short stories, view films or videos; discuss
contributions made by people in science.

Scientific habits of mind / Contributions to
science throughout history

STANDARD 1: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will develop the
abilities to do scientific inquiry be able to demonstrate how scientific inquiry
is applied, and develop understandings about scientific inquiry.

Benchmark 1: The students will demonstrate abilities necessary to do
the processes of scientific inquiry. Students can develop the skills of
investigation and the understanding that scientific inquiry is guided by
knowledge, observations, questions, and a design which identifies and controls
variables to gather evidence to formulate an answer to the original question,
given appropriate curriculum and adequate instruction. Students are to be
performed opportunities to engage in full and partial inquiries in order to
develop the skills of inquiry.

Teachers can facilitate success by providing guidelines or boundaries for
student inquiry. Teachers assist students to choose interesting questions,
monitor design plans, provide relevant examples of effective observation and
organization strategies and check and improve skills in the use of instruments.
technology and techniques, Students at the middle level need special guidance in
using evidence to build explanations, inference, and models, guidance to think
critically and logically. and to see the relationships between evidence and
explanations

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Identify questions that can be answered through scientific
investigations.

Example: Explore properties and phenomena of materials, such
as a balloon, string, straw, and tape.

Students explore properties and phenomena and generate questions to
investigate.

7 2. Design and conduct a scientific investigation.

Example: Students design and conduct an investigation on the
question, "Which paper towel absorbs the most water?" Materials
include different kinds of paper towels, water, and a measuring cup. Components
of the investigation should include background and hypothesis, identification of
independent variable, dependent variable, constants, list of materials,
procedures, collection and analysis of data, and conclusions.

7 3. Use appropriate tools. mathematics, technology, and techniques to
gather. analyze and interpret data. Given an investigative question, students
determine what to measure and how to measure. Students should display their
results in a graph or other graphic format.

7 4. Think critically to make the relationships between evidence and logical
conclusions.

Example: Students check data to determine: Was the question
answered? Was the hypothesis supported/not supported? Did this design work? How
could this experiment be improved" What other questions could be
investigated?

7 5. Apply mathematical reasoning to scientific inquiry.

Examples: Look for patterns from the mean of multiple
trials. such as rate of dissolving relative to different temperatures. Use
observations for inductive and deductive reasoning, such as explaining a
person's energy level after a change in eating habits (e.g., use Likert-tv
scale). State relationships in data, such as variables, which vary directly or
inversely.

7 6. Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.

Example: Present a report of your investigation so that
others understand it and can replicate the designs Benchmark 2: The students
will apply different kinds of investigations to different kinds of questions.
Some investigations involve observing and describing objects, organisms or
events. Investigations can also involve collecting specimens, experiments.
seeking more information, discovery of new objects and phenomena, and creating
models to explain the phenomena. Instructional activities of scientific inquiry
need to engage students in identifying and shaping questions for investigations.
Different kinds of investigations suggest different kinds of questions. To help
focus. students need to frame questions such as "What do we want to find
out?" "How can we make the most accurate observations?" "If
we do this, then what do we expect to happen?" Students need instruction to
develop the ability to refine and refocus broad and ill-defined questions.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Differentiate between a qualitative and a quantitative investigation.

Example: While observing a decomposing compost pile, how
could you collect quantitative (numerical, measurable) data? How could you
collect qualitative (descriptive) data? What is a quantitative question (e.g.,
is the temperature constant throughout the compost pile?)? What is a qualitative
question (e.g., does the color of the compost pile change over time?)?

Example: Each student designs a question to investigate.
Class analyzes all questions to classify as qualitative or quantitative. After
reading a science news article, identify variables and write a qualitative
and/or quantitative investigative question related to the topic of the article.

10 2. Develop questions and adapt the inquiry process to guide an
investigation.

Example: Adapt an existing lab or activity to: write a
different question, identify another variable, and/or adapt the procedure to
guide a new investigation.

Benchmark 3: The students will analyze how science advances through
new ideas, scientific investigations, skepticism, and examining evidence of
varied explanations. Scientific investigations often result in new
ideas and phenomena for study. These generate new investigations in the
scientific community. Science advances through legitimate skepticism. Asking
questions and querying other scientists' explanations is part of scientific
inquiry. Scientists evaluate the proposed explanations by examining and
comparing evidence identifying faulty reasoning, and suggesting other
alternatives.

Much time can be spent asking students to scrutinize evidence and
explanations, but to develop critical thinking skills students must be allowed
this time. Data that is carefully recorded and communicated can be reviewed and
revisited frequently providing insights beyond the original investigative
period. This teaching and learning strategy allows students to discuss, debate,
question, explain, clarify, compare, and propose new thinking through social
discourse. Students will apply this strategy to their own investigations and to
scientific theories.

Indicators: The students will.

7 1. After doing an investigation. generate alternative methods of
investigation and/or further questions for inquiry.

Example: Ask "What would happen if..?" questions
to generate new ideas for investigation.

10 2. Determine evidences which support or contradict a scientific
breakthrough.

Example: Examine and analyze a scientific breakthrough [such
as a Hubble discovery] using multiple, scientific sources. Explain how a
reasonable conclusion is supported.

Example: Analyze evidence and
data which support the theory of continental drift.

STANDARD 2: PHYSICAL, SCIENCE

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all
students will apply process skills to develop an understanding of physical
science including properties of matter, motion and forces and transfer of energy

Benchmark 1: The students will
observe, compares, and classify properties of matter. Substances have
characteristic properties. Substances often are placed in categories if they
react or act ill similar ways. An example of a category, is metals. There arc
more than 100 known elements that combine in a multitude of ways to produce
compounds, which account for the living and non-living substances we encounter.
Middle level students have the capability of understanding relationships among
properties of matter. For example, they are able to understand that density is a
ratio of mass to volume, boiling point is affected by atmospheric pressure, and
solubility is dependent on oil pressure and temperature.

These relationships are developed by concrete
activities that involve hands-on manipulation of apparatus, making quantitative
measurements, and interpreting data using graphs. It is important to contract
characteristics of matter to common experiences so that concepts call be
reconstructed. Some relevant questions, are "What happens in a pressure
cooker?" Why does adding oil to boiling rice and pasta keep it from boiling
over?" "What is in antifreeze and how does it keep your radiator from
freezing? "Why do bridges have metal expansion joints?"

Examples: Measure and graph the
boiling point temperatures for several different liquids. Graph the cooling
curve of a freezing ice cream mixture. Observe substances that dissolve (sugar)
and substances that do not dissolve (sand).

7 2. Using the characteristic properties of each original substance,
distinguish components of various types of mixtures.

Examples: Separate alcohol and water using distillation.
Separate sand, iron filings, and salt using a magnet and dissolving in water.
Observe properties of kitchen powders (baking soda, salt, sugar, flour).

Mix in various combinations, then identify by properties.

10 3. Categorize chemicals to develop an understanding of properties.

Examples: Create operational definitions of metals and
nonmetals and classify by observable chemical and physical properties.

Benchmark 2: The students will observe, measure, infer, and classify
changes in properties of matter.

Substances react chemically in characteristic ways with other substances to
form new substances (compounds) with different characteristic properties. Middle
level students have the capability of inferring characteristics that are not
directly observable and stating their reasons for their inferences. Students
need opportunities to form relationships between what they can see and
inferences of characteristics of matter.

We cannot always see the products of chemical reactions, so the teacher can
provide opportunities for the student to measure reactants and products to build
the concept of conservation of mass. "Is mass lost when baking soda (solid)
and vinegar (liquid) react to produce a gas?" "How could we design an
experiment which would (safely) contain the reaction in a closed container in
order to measure the materials before and after the reaction?" Students
need to engage in activities that lead to these understandings.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Measure and graph the effects of temperature on matter.

Examples: Change water from solid to liquid to gas using
heat. Measure and graph temperature changes.

Observe changes in volume occupied.

10 2. Understand that total mass is consented in chemical reactions.

Examples: Measure the mass of an Alka Seltzer tablet, water,
and a container with a lid. Then drop in tablet, close tightly, and measure the
mass after the reaction.

10 3. Understand the relationship of elements to compounds.

Example: Draw a diagram to show how different compounds are
composed of elements in various combinations.

Benchmark 3:The students will investigate motion
and forces. All matter is subjected to forces that affect its position
and motion. Relating motions to direction, amount of force. and/or speed allows
students to graphically represent data for making comparisons. A moving object
that is not being subjected to a force will continue to move in a straight line
at a constant speed. The principle of inertia helps to explain many events such
as sports actions, household accidents. and space walks. If more than one force
acts upon an object moving along a straight line, the forces may reinforce each
other or cancel each other out, depending on their direction and magnitude.

Students experience forces and motions in their daily lives when kicking
balls, riding in a car, and walking on ice. Teachers should provide hands-on
opportunities for students to experience these physical principles. The forces
acting on natural and human-made structures can be analyzed using computer
simulations, physical models, and games such as pool, soccer, bowling, and
marbles.

Examples: Follow the path of a toy car down a ramp. The ramp
is first covered with tile and then with sandpaper. Trace the force, direction,
and speed of a baseball, from leaving the pitcher's hand and returning back to
the pitcher through one of many possible paths.

7 2. Measure motion and represent data in a graph.

Example: Roll a marble down a ramp. Make adjustments to the
board or to the marble's position in order to hit a target located on the floor.
Measure and graph the results.

10 3. Demonstrate an understanding that an object not being subjected to a
force will continue to move at a constant speed in a straight line (Law of
Inertia).

Example: Place a small object on a rolling toy vehicle; stop
the vehicle abruptly; observe the motion of the small object. Relate to personal
experience-stopping rapidly in a car.

10 4. Demonstrate and mathematically communicate that unbalanced forces will
cause changes in the speed or direction of an object's motion.

Example: With a ping pong ball and two straws, investigate
the effects of the force of air through two straws on the ping-pong ball with
the straws at the same side of ball, on opposite sides, and at other angles.
Illustrate results with vectors (force arrows).

7 5. Understand that a force (e.g., gravity and friction) is a push or a
pull.

Example: Explore the variables of (wheel and ramp) surfaces
that would allow a powered car to overcome the forces of gravity and friction to
climb an inclined plane.

7 6. Investigate force variables of simple machines.

Example: Investigate the load (force) that can be moved as
the number of pulleys in a system is increased.

Benchmark 4: The students will understand and demonstrate the
transfer of energy. Energy forms, such as heat, light, electricity,
mechanical (motion), sound, and chemical energy are properties of substances.
Energy can be transformed from one form to another. The sun is the ultimate
source of energy for life systems while heat convection currents deep within the
earth are an energy source for gradually shaping the earth's surface. Energy
cycles through physical and living systems. Energy can be measured and
predictions can be made based on these measurements.

Students can explore light energy using lenses and mirrors, then connect with
real life applications such as cameras, eyeglasses, telescopes, and bar code
scanners. Students connect the importance of energy transfer with sources of
energy for their homes, such as chemical, nuclear, solar, and mechanical
sources. Teachers provide opportunities for students to explore and experience
energy forms, energy transfers, and make measurements to describe relationships.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Understand that energy can be transferred from one form to another,
including mechanical heat, light, electrical, chemical, and nuclear energy.

Examples: Design an energy transfer device. Use various
forms of energy. The device should accomplish a simple task such as popping a
balloon. Explore sound waves using a spring.

7 2. Sequence the transmission of energy through various real life systems.

Examples: Draw a chart of energy flow through a telephone
from the caller's voice to the listener's ear.

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will apply process
skills to explore and understand the structure and function in living systems,
reproduction and heredity, regulation and behavior, populations and ecosystems,
and diversity and adaptations of organisms.

Benchmark 1: The students will model structures of organisms and
relate functions to the structures. Living things at all levels of
organization demonstrate the complimentary nature of structure and function.
Disease is a breakdown in structure or function of an organism. It is useful for
middle level students to think of life as being organized from simple to
complex, such as a complex organ system includes simpler structures.
Understanding the structure and function of a cell can help explain what is
happening in more complex systems. Students must also understand how parts
relate to the whole, such as each structure is distinct and has a set of
functions that serve the whole.

Teachers can help students understand this organization of life by comparing
and contrasting the levels of organization in both plants and animals. Teachers
reinforce understanding of the cellular nature of life by providing
opportunities to observe live cultures, such as pond water, creating models of
cells, and using the Internet to observe and describe electron micrographs.
Early adolescence is an ideal time to investigate the human body systems as an
example of relating structure and function of parts to the whole.

Examples: Identify human body organs and characteristics.
Then relate their characteristics to function. Map human body systems, research
their functions and show how each supports the health of the human body. Relate
an organism's structure to how it works.

7 2. Compare organisms composed of single cells with organisms that are
multi-cellular.

Example: Create and compare two models: the major parts and
their functions of a single-cell organism and the major parts and their
functions of a multi-cellular organism, i.e. amoeba and hydra.

10 3. Conclude that breakdowns in structure or function of an organism may be
caused by disease, damage, heredity or aging.

Example: Compare lung capacity of smokers with that of
non-smokers and graph the results.

Benchmark 2: The students will understand the role of reproduction
and heredity for all living things. Reproduction is an activity of all
living systems to ensure the continuation of every species. Organisms reproduce
sexually and/or asexually. Every organism requires a set of instructions for
specifying its traits. Heredity is the passage of these instructions from one
generation to another. Students need to clarify misconceptions about
reproduction, specifically about the role of the sperm and egg, and the sexual
reproduction of flowering plants. In learning about heredity, younger middle
level students will focus on observable traits and older students will gain
understanding that genetic material carries coded information.

Teachers should provide opportunities for students to observe a variety of
organisms and their sexual and asexual methods of reproduction by culturing
bacteria, yeast cells, paramecium, hydra, mealworms, guppies, or frogs. Tracing
the origin of student's own development back to sperm and egg reinforces how
life develops from a combination of male and female sex cells.

Discussions with students about traits they possess from their father and
mother lead to understanding of how an organism receives genetic information
from both parents and how new combinations result in the students' unique
characteristics.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Conclude that reproduction is essential to the continuation of a
species.

Example: Observe and communicate the life cycle of an
organism (seed to seed; larva to larva; or adult to adult). Culture more than
one generation (life cycle) of an invertebrate organism. Discuss implications of
one generation of the species not reproducing.

7 2. Differentiate between asexual and sexual reproduction in plants and
animals.

Examples: Compare the regeneration of a planaria to the
reproduction of an earthworm. Compare the propagation of new plants from
cuttings (which skips a portion of the life cycle) with the process of producing
a new plant from fertilization of an ovum.

7 3. Infer that the characteristics of an organism result from heredity and
interactions with the environment.

Examples: Choose an organism. Research its characteristics.
Infer if these characteristics result from heredity, environment, or both.

10 4. Understand that hereditary information contained in the genes (part of
the chromosomes) of each cell is passed from one generation to the next.

Examples: In a cooperative setting, have students trace
parent characteristics with that of an offspring. Use coin tossing to predict
the probability of traits being passed on. Remember that not all traits are
single gene traits.

Benchmark 3: The students will describe the effects of a changing
external environment on the regulation/balance of internal conditions and
processes of organisms. All organisms perform similar processes to
maintain life. They take in food and gases, eliminate wastes, grow and progress
through their life cycle, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions
while living in a constantly changing environment. An organism's behavior
changes as its environment changes. Students need opportunities to investigate a
variety of organisms to realize that all living things have similar fundamental
needs. After observing an organism's way of moving, obtaining food, and
responding to danger, students can alter the environment and observe the effects
on the organism.

This is an appropriate time to study the human nervous and endocrine systems.
Students can compare and contrast how messages are sent through the body and how
the body responds. An example is how fright causes changes within the body,
preparing it for fighting or fleeing.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Understand the effects of a change in environmental conditions on
behavior of an organism by carrying out a full investigation.

Example: Select a variable to alter the environment (e.g.,
temperature, light, moisture, gravity) and observe the effects on an organism
(e.g., pillbug or earthworm). Students could also think of their own behaviors
and determine environmental conditions that affect behavior.

7 2. Identify behaviors of an organism that are a response made to an
internal or environmental stimulus.

Example: Observe the response of the body when competing in
a running event. In order to maintain body temperature, various systems begin
cooling through such processes as sweating and cooling the blood at the surface
of the skin.

10 3. Explain that all organisms must be able to maintain and regulate stable
internal conditions to survive in a constantly changing external environment.

Example: Investigate the effects of various stimuli on
plants and how they adapt their growth: phototropism, geotropism, and
thermotropism are examples.

Benchmark 4: The students will identify and relate interactions of
populations of organisms within an ecosystem. A population consists of
all individuals of a species that occur together at a given time and place. All
populations living together and the physical factors with which they interact
compose an ecosystem. Populations can be categorized by the functions they serve
in an ecosystem: producers (make their own food), consumers (obtain food by
eating other organisms), and decomposers (use waste materials). The major source
of energy for ecosystems is sunlight. This energy enters the ecosystem as
sunlight and is transformed by producers into food energy which then passes from
organism to organism which we observe as food webs. The resources of an
ecosystem, biotic and abiotic, determine the number of organisms within a
population that can be supported.

Middle level students understand populations and ecosystems best when they
have an opportunity to explore them actively. Taking students to a pond or a
field, or even having them observe life under a rotting log, allows them to
identify and observe interactions between populations and identify the physical
conditions needed for their survival. A classroom terrarium, aquarium or river
tank can serve as an excellent model for observing ecosystems and changes and
interactions that occur over time between populations of organisms and changes
in physical conditions. Constructing their own food webs, given a set of
organisms, helps students to see multiple relationships more clearly.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Recognize that all populations living together and the physical factors
with which they interact compose an ecosystem.

Examples: Create a classroom terrarium and identify the
interactions between the populations and physical conditions needed for
survival. Participate in a field study examining the living and non-living parts
of a community.

7 2. Classify organisms in a system by the function they serve (producers,
consumers, decomposers).

Example: Explore populations at a pond, field, forest floor,
and/or rotting log. Have students identify the various food webs and observe
that organisms in a system are classified by their function.

7 3. Trace the energy flow from the sun (source) to producers (chemical
energy) to other organisms in food webs.

Example: Role play the interactions and energy flow of
organisms in a food web by passing a ball of string starting with the sun,
progressing to green plants, insects, etc.

7 4. Relate the limiting factors of biotic and abiotic resources with a
species' population growth and decline.

Examples: Change variables such as a wheat crop yield, mice,
or a predator, and chart the possible outcomes. For example, how would a low
population of mice affect the population of the predator over time? Participate
in a simulation such as "Oh Deer" from Project Wild.

Benchmark 5: The students will observe the diversity of living things
and relate their adaptations to their survival or extinction. Millions
of species of animals, plants and microorganisms are alive today. Animals and
plants vary in body plans and internal structures. Biological evolution, gradual
changes of characteristics of organisms over many generations, has brought
variations among populations. Therefore, a structural characteristic, process,
or behavior that helps an organism survive in its environment is called an
adaptation. When the environment changes and the adaptive characteristics are
insufficient, the species becomes extinct.

Teachers guide students toward thinking about similarities and differences as
students investigate different types of organisms. Students can compare
similarities between organisms in different parts of the world, such as tigers
in Asia and mountain lions in North America to explore the concept of common
ancestry. Instruction needs to be designed to uncover and correct misconceptions
about natural selection. Students tend to think of all individuals in a
population responding to change quickly rather than over a long period of time.
Using examples such as Darwin's finches or the peppered moths of Manchester
helps develop understanding of natural selection over time. (Resource: The
Beak of the Finch by Jonathon Weiner). Providing students with fossil
evidence and allowing them time to construct their own explanations is important
in developing middle level students' understanding of extinction as a natural
process that has affected earth's species over time.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Conclude that millions of species of animals, plants, and microorganisms
may look dissimilar on the outside but have similarities in internal structures,
developmental characteristics, and chemical processes.

Examples: Research numerous organisms and create a
classification system based on observations of similarities and differences.
Compare this system with a dichotomous key used by scientists. Explore various
ways animals take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide.

7 2. Understand that adaptations of organisms-changes in structure, function,
or behavior-contribute to biological diversity.

Example: Compare bird characteristics such as beaks, wings,
and feet with how a bird behaves in its environment. When students work in
cooperative groups to design different parts of an imaginary, bird. Relate
characteristics and behaviors of that bird with its structures.

7 3. Associate extinction of a species with environmental changes and
insufficient adaptive characteristics.

Example: Students use various objects to model bird beaks,
such as spoons, toothpicks, clothes pins. Students use beaks to cat several
types of food, such as cereal, marbles, raisins, noodles. When food sources
change, species without adaptive traits die.

STANDARD 4: EARTH and SPACE SCIENCE

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will apply process
skills to explore and develop an understanding of the structure of the earth
system, earth's history, and earth in the solar system.

Benchmark 1: The students will understand that the structure of the
earth's system is constantly changing due to the earth's physical and chemical
processes. Earth has four major interacting systems: the lithosphere/geosphere,
the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. Earth material is constantly
being reworked and changed. Physical forces, chemical reactions, heat, energy,
and biological processes power the rock cycle, the water cycle, and the carbon
cycle. The outermost layer of the earth is the lithosphere. Under the
lithosphere is a hot, convecting mantle, and a dense, metal-rich core. Massive
lithospheric plates containing continents and oceans slowly move in response to
movement in the mantle. These plate motions also result in earthquakes,
volcanoes, and mountain building. Constructive and destructive earth forces
change earth's landforms.

Students learn about the major earth systems and their relationships through
direct and indirect evidence. First-hand observations of weather, rocks, soil,
oceans, and gases lead students to make inferences about some of those major
systems. Indirect evidence is used when determining the composition and movement
in earth's mantle and core.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Predict patterns from data collected.

Example: Map the movement of weather systems, and predict
the local weather conditions.

7 2. Identify properties of the solid earth, the oceans and fresh water, and
the atmosphere.

Examples: Create a concept map of earth materials using
links to show connections, such as water causing erosion of solid, wind
evaporating water, etc. Compare the densities of salt and fresh water. Classify
rocks, minerals, and soil by properties. Compare heating and cooling over land
and water.

Benchmark 2: The students will understand that past and present earth
processes are similar. The constructive and destructive forces we see
today are similar to those that occurred in the past. Constructive forces
include crustal formation by plate movement, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes,
and deposition of sediments. Destructive forces include weathering, erosion, and
glacial action. Earth's history is written in the layers of the rocks and clues
in the rocks can be used to piece together a story and picture. Geologic
processes that form rocks and mountains today are similar to processes that
formed rocks and mountains over a long period of time in the distant past.

Teachers can provide opportunities for students to observe and research
evidence of changes that can be found in the earth's crust. Sedimentary rocks,
such as limestone, sandstone, and shale show deposition of sediments over time.
Volcanic flows of ancient volcanoes and earthquake damage can show us what to
expect from modern day catastrophes. Glacial deposits show past ice ages and
global warming and cooling. Some fossil beds enable the matching of rocks from
different continents, and other fossil beds show how organisms developed over a
long period of time. Students will need to apply knowledge of earth's past to
make decisions relative to earth's future.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Understand the dynamics of earth's constructive and destructive forces
over time.

Examples: Construct models of rock types using food. Peanut
brittle without the peanuts can illustrate a molten material crystallizing to
form a solid substance similar to an igneous rock. Use an acid (vinegar or
dilute HCl) to show the chemical similarity of limestone rock and fossilized
shells. Students take a piece of sandstone and apply destructive forces to
change it into sand. Observe the effects of weathering on various rock types.

10 2. Model geologic time to scale.

Example: "Toilet Paper Earth History": Plot the
major events [last ice age, beginning of Paleozoic Era, etc.] of earth history
on a roll of toilet paper. Each sheet of toilet paper = 100 million years.

10 3. Relate geologic evidence to a record of earth's history.

Example: Locate the same rock layer in two local road cuts;
give fossil evidence and other kinds of evidence that the layer is the same in
both exposures. Compare the types of organisms shown in the fossils found in a
Kansas shale (mudstone) and a Kansas limestone and infer the ocean depositional
environment from which the rock layer was formed.

10 4. Compare the current arrangement of the continents with the arrangement
of continents throughout the earth's history.

Examples: C ut out continents from a world map and slide
them together to see how they fit. Plot each continental plate's latitude and
longitude through earth history.

Benchmark 3: The students will identify and classify planets and
other solar system components. The solar system consists of the sun,
which is an average-sized star in the middle of its life cycle, and the nine
planets and their moons, asteroids, and comets, which travel in elliptical
orbits around the sun. The sun, the central and largest body in the system,
radiates energy outward. The earth is the third of nine planets in the system,
and has one moon. Other stars in our galaxy are visible from earth, as are
distant galaxies, but are so distant they appear as pinpoints of light.
Scientists have discovered much about the composition and size of stars, and how
they move in space.

Space and the solar system are of high interest to middle level students.
Teachers can help students take advantage of the many print and on-line
resources, as well as becoming amateur sky-watchers.

7 2. Develop understanding of spatial relationships via models of the
earth/moon/ planets/sun system to scale.

Examples: Model the solar system to scale in a long hallway
or school yard using rocks for rocky planets and balloons for gaseous planets.
Designate a large object as the sun. Model the earth/moon/sun system to scale
with the question: If the earth were the size of a tennis ball, how big would
the moon be? How big would the sun be? How far apart would they be?

3. Research smaller components of the solar system such as asteroids and
comets.

Example: Identify and classify characteristics of asteroids
and comets.

10 4. Identify the sun as a star and compare its characteristics to those of
other stars.

Examples: Classify, bright stars visible from earth by
color, temperature, apparent brightness, and distance from earth. Sequence the
life cycle of a star.

5. Trace cultural, as well as scientific, influences on the study of
astronomy.

Example: Research ancient observations and explanations of
the heavens and compare with today's knowledge.

Benchmark 4: The students will model motions and identify forces that
explain earth phenomena. There are many motions and forces that affect
the earth. Most objects in the solar system have regular motions, which can be
tracked, measured, analyzed, and predicted. These notions can explain such
phenomena as the day, year, seasons, tides, phases of the moon, and eclipses of
the sun and moon. The force that governs the motions within the solar system and
keeps the planets in orbit around the sun, and the moon around the earth, is
gravity. Phenomena on the earth's surface, such as winds, ocean currents, the
water cycle, and the growth of plants, receive their energy from the sun.

Misconceptions abound among middle level students about such concepts as the
cause of the seasons and the reasons for the phases of the moon. Hands-on
activities, role-playing, models, and computer simulations are helpful for
understanding the relative motion of the planets and moons. Teachers can help
students make connections between force and motion concepts, such as Newton's
Laws of Motion and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, and applications to
earth and space science. Many ideas are misconceptions which could be considered
in a series of what if questions: What if the sun's energy did not
cause cloud formation and other parts of the water cycle? What if the earth
rotated once a month? What if the earth's axis was not tilted?

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Demonstrate object/space/time relationships that explain phenomena such
as the day, the month, the year, and the seasons.

Example: Use an earth/moon/sun model to demonstrate a day, a
month, a year, and the seasons.

10 2. Model earth/moon positions that create phases of the moon and eclipses.

Example: Use students to demonstrate the relative positions
of the sun, earth and moon to create eclipses, phases of the moon, and tides
using a circle of students representing the fluid water.

10 3. Apply principles of force and motion to an understanding of the solar
system.

Examples: Use string and ball model to illustrate gravity
and movement creating an orbit around a hand.

10 4. Understand the effect of the angle of incidence of solar energy
striking the earth's surface on the amount of heat energy absorbed at the
earth's surface.

Examples: Place a piece of graph paper on the surface of a
globe at the equator. Hold a flashlight 10 cm. from the paper parallel to the
globe. Mark the lighted area of the paper. Then, place the graph paper at a high
latitude. Again hold the flashlight parallel to the paper 10 cm from the paper.
Compare the areas lit at the equator and at the high latitude, with the same
amount of light energy. Where does each lighted square of paper receive the most
energy?

STANDARD 5: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will demonstrate
abilities of technological design and understandings about science and
technology.

Benchmark 1: The students will demonstrate abilities of technological
design. Technological design focuses on creating new products for
meeting human needs. Students need to develop abilities to identify specific
needs and design solutions for those needs. The tasks of technological design
include addressing a range of needs, materials, and aspects of science. Suitable
experiences could include designing intentions that meet a need in the student's
life.

Building a tower of straws is a good start for collaboration and work in
design preparation and construction. Students need to develop criteria for
evaluating their inventions/products. These questions could help develop
criteria: Who will be the users of the product? How will we know if the product
meets their needs? Are there any risks to the design? What is the cost? How much
time will it take to build? Using their own criteria, students can design
several ways of solving a problem and evaluate the best approach. Students could
keep a log of their designs and evaluations to communicate the process of
technological design. The log might address these questions: What is the
function of the device? How does the device work? How did students come up with
the idea? What were the sequential steps taken in constructing the design? What
problems were encountered?

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Identify appropriate problems for technological design.

Examples: Design a measurement instrument (e.g., weather
instruments) for a science question that students are investigating. Select and
research a current technology, then project how it might change in the next 20
years.

Example: Design, create and evaluate a product that meets a
need or solves a problem in a student's life.

3. Communicate the process of technological design.

Example: Keep a log of designing [and building] a
technology, then use the log to explain the process.

Benchmark 2: The students will develop understandings of the
similarities, differences, and relationships in science and technology.
The primary difference between science and technology is that science
investigates to answer questions about the natural world and technology creates
a product to meet human needs by applying scientific principles. Middle level
students are able to evaluate the impact of technologies, recognizing that most
have both benefits and risks to society. Science and technology have advanced
through contributions of many different people, in different cultures, at
different times in history.

Students may compare and contrast scientific discoveries with advances in
technological design. Students may select a device they use, such as a radio,
microwave, or television, and compare it to one their grandparents used.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Compare the work of scientists with that of applied scientists and
technologists.

Example: A scientist studies air pressure. A technologist
designs an airplane wing. Complete a Venn diagram to compare the processes of
scientists and technologists.

3. Identify contributions to science and technology by many people and many
cultures.

Example: Using a map of the world, mark the locations for
people and events that have contributed to science.

STANDARD 6: SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will apply process
skills to explore and develop an understanding of issues of personal health,
population, resources and environment and natural hazards.

Benchmark 1: The students will make decisions based on scientific
understanding of personal health. Regular exercise, rest, and proper
nutrition are important to the maintenance and improvement of human health.
Injury and illness are risks to maintaining health. Middle level students need
opportunities to apply science learning to their understanding of personal
health and science-based decision making related to health risks.

Parents and teachers need to work in partnership to help students understand
that they, the middle level students, not some outside force (parents, school,
the law), are the ultimate decision makers about their own personal health. The
challenge to teachers is to help students apply scientific understanding to
health decisions by giving the students opportunities to gather evidence and
draw their own conclusions on topics such as smoking, healthy eating, wearing
bike helmets, and wearing car seat belts.

7 2. Use a systemic approach to thinking critically about personal health
risks and benefits.

Example: Compare and contrast immediate benefits of eating
junk food to long term benefits of a lifetime of healthy eating.

Example: Evaluate the risks and benefits of foods,
medicines, and personal products. Evaluate and compare the nutritional and toxic
properties of various natural and synthetic foods.

Benchmark 2: The students will understand the impact of human
activity on resources and environment. When an area becomes
overpopulated by a species, the environment will change due to the increased use
of resources. Middle level students need opportunities to learn about concepts
of carrying capacity. They need to gather evidence and analyze effects of human
interactions with the environment.

Teachers can help their students understand these global issues by starting
locally. "What changes in the atmosphere are caused by all the cars we use
in our community?" Ground-level ozone indicators provide an opportunity to
quantify the effect. "After a heavy rain, where does the water go that runs
off your lawn?" "What happens to that water source if your lawn was
just fertilized before the rain?" The role of the teacher is to help
students to apply scientific understanding, gained through their own
investigations, of environmental issues. Teachers should help students base
environmental decisions on understanding, not emotion.

Indicators: The students will:

7 1. Investigate the effects of human activities on the environment.

Examples: Count the number of cars that pass the school
during a period of time. Investigate the effects of traffic volume on
environmental quality (e.g., water and air quality, plant health). Investigate
the effects of repeatedly walking off the sidewalks. Discuss the implications to
the environment. Participate in an environmental Internet study.

2. Base decisions on perceptions of benefits and risks.

Example: Evaluate the benefits of burning fossil fuels to
meet energy needs against the risks of global warming.

Benchmark 3: The students will understand that natural hazards are
dynamic examples of earth processes which cause us to evaluate risks. California
has earthquakes. Florida has hurricanes. Kansas has tornadoes. Natural hazards
can also be caused by human interaction with the environment, such as channeling
a stream. Middle level students need opportunities to identify the causes and
human risks and challenges of natural hazards.

Teachers call help students use data on frequency of occurrence of natural
hazard events both to dispel unnatural fears for some students and overcome the
common middle level student misconception of invincibility (it won't happen to
me). What would you need in a tornado survival kit to keep in the basement for
your family? This question would cause students to assess the kinds of damage
caused by a tornado (need a flashlight because electrical lines may be down) and
the kinds of support services available in the community.

Example: How can channeling a stream promote flooding
downstream? Borrow a County Conservation Commission's stream trailer to
investigate the dynamics of a stream and the effects of human interaction with
the stream.

STANDARD 7: HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will examine and
develop an understanding of science as a historical human endeavor.

Benchmark 1: The students will develop scientific habits of mind.
Science requires varied abilities depending on the field of study, type of
inquiry, and cultural context. The abilities characteristic of those engaged in
scientific investigations include: reasoning, intellectual honesty, tolerance of
ambiguity, appropriate skepticism, open-mindedness and the ability to make
logical conclusions based on current evidence.

Teachers can support the development of scientific habits of mind by
providing students with on-going instruction using inquiry as a framework.
Students can apply science concepts in investigations. They can work
individually and on teams while conducting inquiry. They can share their work
through varied mediums, and they can self-evaluate their learning. High
expectations for accuracy, reliability, and openness to differing opinions
should be exercised. The indicators listed below can be embedded within the
other standards.

Indicators: The students will:

1. Practice intellectual honesty.

Example: Analyze news articles to evaluate if the articles
apply statistics/data to bring clarity, or if the articles use data to mislead.
Analyze data and recognize that an hypothesis not supported by data should not
be perceived as right or wrong.

2. Demonstrate skepticism appropriately.

Example: Students will attempt to replicate an investigation
to support or refute a conclusion.

3. Display open-mindedness to new ideas.

Example: Share interpretations that differ from currently
held explanations on topics such as global warming and dietary claims. Evaluate
the validity of results and accuracy of stated conclusions.

4. Base decisions on evidence.

Example: Review results of individual, group, or peer
investigations to assess accuracy of conclusions based upon data collection and
analysis and use of evidence to reach a conclusion.

Benchmark 2: The students will research contributions to science
throughout history. Scientific knowledge is not static. New knowledge
leads to new questions and new discoveries that may be beneficial or harmful.
Contributions to scientific knowledge can be met with resistance causing a need
for replication and open sharing of ideas. Scientific contributions have been
made over an expanse of time by individuals from varied cultures,

ethnic backgrounds, and across gender and economic boundaries.

Students should engage in research realizing that the process may be a small
portion of a larger process or of an event that takes place over a broad
historical context. Teachers should focus on the contributions of scientists and
how the culture of the time influenced their work. Reading biographies,
interviews with scientists, and analyzing vignettes are strategies for
understanding the role of scientists and the contributions of science throughout
history.

Indicators: The students will:

1. Recognize that new knowledge leads to new questions and new discoveries.

Example: Discuss discoveries that replaced previously held
knowledge, such as safety of Freon or saccharine use, knowledge concerning the
transmission of AIDS, cloning, Pluto's status as a planet.

Examples: Formulate a testable hypothesis, where
appropriate, and demonstrate the logical connections between the scientific
concepts guiding an hypothesis and the design of an experiment. Demonstrate a
knowledge base, appropriate procedures, and conceptual understanding of
scientific investigations.

10 3. Design and conduct scientific investigations.

Examples: Requires introduction to the major concepts in the
area being investigated, proper equipment, safety precautions, assistance with
methodological problems, recommendations for use of technologies, clarification
of ideas that guide the inquiry, and scientific knowledge obtained from sources
other than the actual investigation. May also require student clarification of
the question, method (including replication), controls, variables, display of
data, revision of methods and replication of explanations, followed by a public
presentation of the results with a critical response from peers. Always,
students must use evidence, apply logic, and construct an argument for their
proposed explanations.

10 4. Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and
communications.

Examples: A variety of technologies, such as hand tools,
measuring instruments, and calculators, should be an integral component of
scientific investigations. The use of computers for the collection,
organization, analysis, and display of data is also a part of this standard.
Mathematics plays an essential role in all aspects of an inquiry. Mathematical
tools and models guide and improve the posing of questions, gathering data,
constructing explanations, and communicating results.

Technology is used to gather and manipulate data. New techniques and tools
provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby
contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data,
and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used.

5. Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and
evidence.

Examples: Student inquiries should culminate in formulating
an explanation or model. Models can be physical, conceptual, or mathematical. In
the process of answering the questions, the students should engage in
discussions that result in the revision of their explanations. Discussions
should be based on scientific knowledge, the use of logic, and evidence from
their investigations.

6. Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.

Example: Emphasize the critical abilities of analyzing an
argument by reviewing current scientific understanding, weighing the evidence,
and examining the logic so as to decide which explanations and models are best.
In other words, although there may be several plausible explanations, students
should be able to use scientific criteria to determine the supported
explanation(s).

7. Assess the interrelationships between the rate of chemical reactions and
variables such as temperature, concentration, catalysts, and reaction type.

STANDARD 2B: PHYSICS

Benchmark 1: The students will understand the relationship between
motions and forces.

Indicators: The students will understand:

10 1. The motion of an object can be described in terms of its displacement
(position), velocity and acceleration.

10 2. Objects change their motion only when a net force is applied.

Examples: When no net force acts, the object either doesn't
move or moves with constant speed in a straight line. When a net force acts upon
an object, the object will change its motion. The magnitude of the change in
motion is given by the relationship F = ma, regardless of the type of force.

3. Whenever a system applies force to an object, that object applies a
related force to the system that is equal in magnitude and opposite in
direction.

Examples: The change in an object's motion (acceleration) is
in the direction of the net applied force.

4. Gravitation is a relatively weak, attractive force that acts upon and
between any two masses.

5. Electric force is the attraction or repulsion that exists between two
charged particles. Its magnitude is vastly greater than that due to gravity.

10 6. Electricity and magnetism are two aspects of a single electromagnetic
force.

Benchmark 2: The students will understand the conservation of mass
and energy, and that the overall disorder of the universe increases with time.

Indicators: The students will understand:

10 1. The energy of the universe is constant.

Examples: Physicists view matter as equivalent to energy.
Matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed but they can be interchanged.

10 2. Energy may be classified as kinetic, potential or energy within a
field.

Examples: Kinetic energy deals with the motion of objects.
Potential energy results from objects' relative configuration. Electromagnetic
radiation is an example of energy contained within a field. These energies are
interchangeable: kinetic to potential, potential to kinetic, potential to field,
etc.

3. Heat is the transfer of energy from objects at higher temperature to
objects at lower temperature.

Examples: The internal energy of substances consists in part
of movement of atoms, molecules, and ions. Temperature is a measure of the
average magnitude of this movement. Heat is an exchange of internal energy
between systems.

4. The universe tends to become less organized and more disordered with time
with every chemical and physical change.

Example: A logical outcome of this is that the energy of the
universe will tend toward a more uniform distribution.

Benchmark 3: The students will understand the basic interactions of
matter and energy.

3. Each kind of atom or molecule can gain or lose energy in unique, discrete
amounts.

Example: Atoms and molecules can absorb and emit light only
at wavelengths corresponding to specific amounts of energy. These wavelengths
can be used to identify the substance and form the basis for several forms of
spectroscopy.

10 4. Electrons flow easily in conductors (such as metals). There is much
more resistance to electron flow in insulators (such as glass). Semiconducting
materials have intermediate behavior. At low temperatures, some materials become
superconductors and offer little or no resistance to the flow of electrons.

STANDARD 3: LIFE SCIENCE

As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students will develop an
understanding of the cell, molecular basis of heredity, biological evolution,
interdependence of organisms, matter, energy, and organization in living
systems, and the behavior of organisms.

Benchmark 1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the
structure and function of the cell.

Indicators: Students will understand that:

10 1. Cells are composed of a variety of specialized structures that carry
out specific functions.

Examples: Every cell is surrounded by a membrane that
separates it from the outside environment and controls flow of materials into
and out of the cell. Proteins embedded in the membrane help carry out specific
life processes. In eukaryotes, similar membranes and their associated proteins
help to compartmentalize and isolate the various chemical environments of the
cell into organelles. Organelles are specialized to carry out specific life
functions for the cell such as protein synthesis, protein processing and
packaging, energy transformation, communication, etc.

10 2. Most cell functions involve specific chemical reactions.

Example: Food molecules taken into cells provide the
chemicals needed to synthesize other molecules. Enzymes catalyze both breakdown
and synthesis in the cell. In eukaryotes these reactions take place in
membrane-bound organelles.

10 3. Cells function and replicate as a result of information stored in DNA
and RNA molecules.

Example: Proteins and gene expression regulate cell
functions. This regulation allows cells to respond to their environment and to
control and coordinate cell division.

10 4. Some plant cells contain chloroplasts, which are the sites of
photosynthesis.

Example: The process of photosynthesis provides a vital
connection between the sun and the energy needs of living systems. The cell is
the basic unit of function for living things.

Example: In development of most multicellular organisms, a
fertilized cell forms an embryo that differentiates into an adult.
Differentiation is regulated through expression of different genes and leads to
the formation of specialized cells, tissues, and organs.

Benchmark 2: Students will demonstrate an understanding of
chromosomes, genes, and the molecular basis of heredity.

Indicators: The students will understand:

10 1. Hereditary information is contained in genes, located in the
chromosomes of each cell. Each gene carries a single unit of information. An
inherited trait of an individual can be determined by one or by many genes, and
a single gene can influence more than one trait.

Examples: Alleles, which are different forms of a gene, may
be dominant, recessive, co-dominant, etc. The expression of traits is determined
by a complex interaction of genes, developmental history, and the environment.

10 2. Experiments have shown that all known living organisms contain DNA or
RNA as their genetic material.

Examples: Frederick Griffith and Avery's work with bacteria
demonstrated DNA changed properties of cells. Beadle and Tatum's work provided a
mechanism for gene action and a link to modern molecular genetics. Hershey and
Chase's work demonstrated that viral DNA contained the genetic code for new
virus production in bacterial cells.

10 3. DNA provides the instructions that specify the characteristics of
organisms.

Examples: Nucleotides (adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine
and uracil) make up DNA and RNA molecules. Sequences of nucleotides that either
determine or contribute to a genetic trait are called genes. DNA is replicated
by using a template process that usually results in identical copies. DNA is
packaged in chromosomes during cell replication.

6. Organisms usually have a characteristic numbers of chromosomes; one pair
of these may determine the sex of individuals.

Example: Most cells in humans contain 23 pairs of
chromosomes; the 23rd pair contains the XX for female or XY for male.

7. Gametes carry the genetic information to the next generation.

Examples: Gametes contain only one representative from each
chromosome pair. Gametes unite to form a new individual in most organisms. Many
possible combinations of genes explain features of heredity such as how traits
can be hidden for several generations.

8. Mutations occur in DNA at very low rates.

Examples: Some changes make no difference to the organism or
to future generations. Phenotypic changes can be harmful; some mutations enable
organisms to survive changes in their environment. Only mutations in the germ
cells are passed on to offspring and therefore can bring about beneficial or
harmful changes in future generations.

Benchmark 3: Students will understand(1)
major concepts of biological evolution.

Indicators: The students will understand:

1. That the theory of evolution is both the history of descent with
modification of different lineages of organisms from common ancestors and the
ongoing adaptation of organisms to environmental challenges and changes
(modified from Futuyma, 1998).

10 2. That biologists use evolution theory to explain the earth's present day
biodiversity-the number, variety, and variability of organisms.

Example: Patterns of diversification and extinction of
organisms are documented in the fossil record. The fossil record provides
evidence of simple, bacteria-like life as far back as 3.8+ billion years ago.
Natural selection, and other processes, can cause populations to change from one
generation to the next. A single population can separate into two or more
independent populations. Over time, these populations can also become very
different from each other. If the isolation continues, the genetic separation
may become irreversible. This process is called specification. Populations and
entire lineages can go extinct. One effect of extinction is to increase the
apparent differences between populations. As intermediate populations go
extinct, the surviving lineages can become more distinct from one another.

3. That biologists recognize that the primary mechanisms of evolution are
natural selection and random genetic drift.

Example: Natural selection includes the following concepts:
1) Heritable variation exists in every species; 2) some heritable traits are
more advantageous to reproduction and/or survival than are others; 3) there is a
finite supply of resources required for life; not all progeny survive; 4)
individuals with advantageous traits generally survive to reproduce; 5) the
advantageous heritable traits increase in the population through time.

10 4. The sources and value of variation.

Examples: Variation of organisms within and among species increases the
likelihood that some members will survive under changed environmental
conditions. New heritable traits primarily result from new combinations of genes
and secondarily from mutations or changes in the reproductive cells; changes in
other cells of a sexual organism are not passed to the next generation.

5. That evolution by natural selection is a broad, unifying theoretical
framework in biology.

Examples: Evolution provides the context in which to ask
research questions and yields valuable insights, especially in agriculture and
medicine. The common ancestry of living things allows them to be classified into
a hierarchy of groups; these classifications or family trees follow rules of
nomenclature; scientific names have unique definitions and value. Natural
selection and its evolutionary consequences provide a scientific explanation for
the fossil record that correlates with geochemical (e.g., radioisotope) dating
results. The distribution of fossil and modern organisms is related to
geological and ecological changes (i.e. plate tectonics, migration).

Benchmark 4: Students will understand the interdependence of
organisms and their interaction with the physical environment.

Indicators: The students will understand:

10 1. Atoms and molecules on the earth cycle among the living and nonliving
components of the biosphere.

Example: The chemical elements essential to life circulate
in the biosphere in characteristic paths known as biogeochemical cycles [e.g.,
nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, etc. cycles].

10 2. Energy flows through ecosystems.

Examples: Organisms, ecosystems, and the biosphere possess
thermodynamic characteristics that exhibit a high state of internal order.
Radiant energy that enters the earth's surface is balanced by the energy that
leaves the earth's surface. Transfer of energy through a series of organisms in
an ecosystem is called the food chain; at each transfer as much as 90% of the
potential energy is lost as heat.

10 3. Organisms cooperate and compete in ecosystems.

Example: The interrelationships and interdependence of
organisms may generate stable ecosystems.

10 4. Living organisms have the capacity to produce populations of infinite
size but environments and resources are finite. This fundamental tension has
profound effects on the interactions among organisms.

Example: The presence and success of an organism, or a group
of organisms, depends upon a large number of environmental factors.

10 5. Human beings live within and impact ecosystems.

Example: Humans modify ecosystems as a result of population
growth, technology, and consumption. Human modifications of habitats through
direct harvesting, pollution, atmospheric changes, and other factors affect
ecosystem stability.

Benchmark 5: Students will develop an understanding of matter,
energy, and organization in living systems.

Indicators: The students will develop an understanding of:

10 1. Living systems require a continuous input of energy to maintain their
chemical and physical organization.

Examples: All matter tends toward more disorganized states.
With death, and the cessation of energy intake, living systems rapidly
disintegrate.

10 2. The sun is the primary source of energy for life through the process of
photosynthesis.

Examples: Plants capture energy by absorbing light and using
it to form simple sugars. The energy in these sugar molecules can be used to
assemble larger molecules with biological activity, including proteins, DNA,
carbohydrates, and fats. These molecules serve as sources of energy for life
processes.

10 3. Food molecules contain energy. This energy is made available by
cellular respiration.

Examples: Energy is released when the bonds of food
molecules are broken and new compounds with lower energy bonds are formed. Cells
usually use this energy to regenerate ATP, the molecule involved in cell
metabolism.

4. The structure and function of an organism serves to acquire, transform,
transport, release, and eliminate the matter and energy used to sustain the
organism.

10 5. The distribution and abundance of organisms and populations in
ecosystems are limited by the availability of matter and energy, and the ability
of the ecosystem to recycle materials.

6. As matter and energy flow through different levels of organization of
living systems-cells, organs, organisms, communities-and between living systems
and the physical environment, chemical elements are recombined in different
ways. Each recombination results in the storage of some energy and a dissipation
of some energy into the environment as heat. Matter is recycled; energy is not.

Benchmark 6: Students will understand the behavior of animals.

Indicators: The students will understand that:

1. Animals have behavioral responses to internal changes and to external
stimuli.

Examples: Responses to external stimuli can result from
interactions with the organism's own species and others, as well as
environmental changes. These responses can be innate and/or learned. Animals
often live in unpredictable environments, and so their behavior must be flexible
enough to deal with uncertainty and change.

2. Most multicellular animals have nervous systems that underlie behavior.

Examples: Nervous systems are formed from specialized cells
that conduct signals rapidly through the long cell extensions that make up
nerves. The nerve cells communicate with each other by secreting specific
excitatory and inhibitory molecules. In sense organs, specialized cells detect
light, sound, and specific chemicals and enable animals to monitor what is going
on in the world around them.

3. Like other aspects of an organism's biology, behaviors have evolved
through natural selection.

Examples: Behaviors are often adaptive when viewed in terms
of survival and reproductive success. Behavioral biology has implications for
humans, as it provides links to psychology, sociology, and anthropology.

Benchmark 7: Students will demonstrate an understanding of structure,
function, and diversity of organisms.

Examples: Viruses are particles that cause infections. They
are composed of genomes encased in a protein shell. They can only reproduce in a
host organism. Because of these properties, vaccines are effective for viral
infections but antibiotics are not. Bacteria are a very diverse group of
organisms that account for much of this planet's biomass and cycling of
materials. They are prokaryotes. Medially, several infectious diseases (e.g.
strep throat, staph infections, cholera, syphilis, food poisoning, etc.) are
caused by bacteria. Protists are unicellular eukaryotes whose ancestors gave
rise to other major kingdoms; some are disease agents (e.g. malaria, amoebic
dysentery) and may require an animal vector. Understanding of these basic groups
underlies effective sanitation and hygiene.

Example: Fungi are vital decomposers and have special
symbiotic relationships with plants. Fungi are also important commercially and
as the original source of antibiotics. Fungi can also cause disease (e.g.
ringworm, athlete's foot, etc.).

Examples: Plant structures vary and this variation is
important in understanding the function of plants in farming, pharmaceutical
products, etc. Photosynthesis is the basis for nearly all food chains and our
food production. Understanding biology of plants underlies a scientific
understanding of ecology.

Example: Animals vary; this variation is important in
understanding the function of animals in farming, medical research, etc.
Understanding the biology of animals underlies a scientific understanding of
ecology.

5. Humans as complex, soft machines that require many systems to operate
properly.

Examples: Organ systems have specific structures and
functions; they interact with each other. Infections, developmental problems,
trauma and aging result in specific diseases and disorders.

10 6. The structures and processes of development and reproduction.

Examples: Reproduction is essential to all ongoing life and
is accomplished with wide variation in life cycles and anatomy. Understanding of
basic mechanisms, of reproduction and development, as well as changes of aging,
is critical to leading a healthy life, parenting, and making societal decisions.
Environmental factors (e.g. radiation, chemicals) can cause inherited gene
mutations that directly alter development or cellular repair mechanisms, leading
to the development of various cancers. Changes to non-reproductive cell lines
are not passed to the next generation.

STANDARD 4: EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE

As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, students will develop an
understanding of energy in the earth system, geochemical cycles, the formation
and organization of the earth system, and the organization and development of
the universe.

Benchmark 1: Students will develop an understanding of the sources of
energy that power the dynamic earth system.

Indicators: The students will understand:

10 1. All energy on earth originates with the sun, is generated by
radioactive decay in the earth's interior, or is left over from the earth's
formation.

10 2. Convection circulation in the mantle is driven by the outward transfer
of the earth's internal heat.

10 3. Movable continental and oceanic plates make up the earth's surface; the
hot, convecting mantle is the energy source for plate movement.

10 4. Energy from the sun heats the oceans and the atmosphere, and affects
oceanic and atmospheric circulation.

Benchmark 3. Students will develop an understanding of the origin and
evolution of the dynamic earth system.

Indicators: The students will understand:

10 1. The geologic time scale and how it relates to the history of the earth.

2. Rock sequences, fossils and radioactive decay and how they are used to
estimate the time rocks are formed.

10 3. Earth changes as short term (during a human's lifetime) such as
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and as long term (over a geological time
scale) such as mountain building and plate movements.

4. The dramatic changes in the earth's atmosphere (i.e. introduction of O2)
which were affected by the emergence of life on earth.

10 5. Formation of minerals and rocks by way of the rock cycle.

Benchmark 4. As a result of activities in grades 9-12, students will
develop an understanding of the organization of the universe and its
development.

Indicators: The students will understand:

1. Formation of the universe.

Example: The sun is an ordinary star. It appears that many
stars have planets orbiting them. Our galaxy (The Milky Way) contains about 100
billion stars. Galaxies are a level of organization of the Universe. There are
at least 100 billion galaxies in the observable Universe. Galaxies are organized
into large superclusters with large voids between them.

10 2. Expansion of the Universe from a hot dense early state.

Example: By studying the light emitted from distant
galaxies, it has been found that they are moving apart from one another.
Cosmological understanding, including the Big Bang theory, is based on this
expansion.

3. Organization and development of stars, solar systems, and planets.

Examples: Nebulae from which stars and planets form are
mostly hydrogen and helium. Heavier elements were and continue to be made by the
nuclear fusion process. The sun is a second-generation star which along with its
planets, were formed billions of years after the Big Bang.

4. General methods of and importance of the exploration of our solar system
and space.

STANDARD 5: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students will develop
understandings about science and technology and abilities of technological
design.

Benchmark 1: Students will develop understandings about science and
technology.

Indicators: The students will understand:

1. Creativity, imagination, and a broad knowledge base are all required in
the work of science and engineering.

2. Science and technology are pursued for different purposes.

Examples: Scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to
understand the natural world. Applied science or technology is driven by the
need to meet human needs and solve human problems.

3. Scientists in different disciplines ask different questions, use different
methods of investigation, and accept different types of evidence to support
their explanations.

4. Science advances new technologies. New technologies open new areas for
scientific inquiry.

5. Technological knowledge is often not made public because of the financial
and military potential of the idea or invention. Scientific knowledge is made
public through presentations at professional meetings and publications in
scientific journals.

STANDARD 6: SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES

As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students will develop an
understanding of personal and community health, population growth, natural
resources, environmental quality, natural and human-induced hazards, and science
and technology in local, national and global settings.

Benchmark 1: Students will develop an understanding of the overall
functioning of human systems and their interaction with the environment in order
to understand specific mechanisms and processes related to health issues.

Indicators: The students will understand that:

1. Hazards and the potential for accidents exist for all human beings.

2. The severity of disease symptoms is dependent on many factors, such as
human resistance and the virulence of the disease-producing organism.

Examples: Many diseases can be prevented, controlled, or
cured. Some diseases, such as cancer, result from specific body dysfunctions and
are not communicable.

6. Intelligent use of chemical products relates directly to an understanding
of chemistry.

Benchmark 2: Students will demonstrate an understanding of population
growth.

Indicators: The students will understand that:

10 1. Rate of change in populations is determined by the combined effects of
birth and death, and emigration and immigration.

Examples: Populations can increase through exponential
growth. Population growth changes resource use and environmental conditions.

2. A variety of factors influence birth rates and fertility rates.

10 3. Populations can reach limits to growth.

Examples: Carrying capacity is the maximum number of
organisms that can be sustained in a given environment. Natural resources limit
the capacity of ecosystems to sustain populations.

Benchmark 3: Students will understand that human populations use
natural resources and influence environmental quality.

Indicators: The students will understand that:

1. Natural resources from the lithosphere and ecosystems have been and will
continue to be used to sustain human populations.

Examples: These processes of ecosystems include maintenance
of the atmosphere, generation of soils, control of the hydrologic cycle, and
recycling of nutrients. Humans are altering many of these processes, and the
changes may be detrimental to ecosystem function.

3. Materials from human activities affect both physical and chemical cycles
of the earth.

Example: Natural systems can reuse waste, but that capacity
is limited.

4. Humans use many natural systems as resources.

Benchmark 4: Students will understand the effect of natural and
human-influenced hazards.

Indicators: Students will understand that:

1. Natural processes of earth may be hazardous for humans.

Examples: Humans live at the interface between two
dynamically changing systems, the atmosphere and the earth's crust. The
vulnerability of societies to disruption by natural processes has increased.
Natural hazards include volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and severe weather.
Examples of slow, progressive changes are stream channel position,
sedimentation, continual erosion, wasting of soil and landscapes.

2. There is a need to access potential risk and danger from natural and human
induced hazards.

Examples: Human initiated changes in the environment bring
benefits as well as risks to society. Various changes have costs and benefits.
Environmental ethics have a role in the decision making process.

Benchmark 5: Students will develop an understanding of the
relationship between science, technology, and society.

Indicators: The students will understand that:

1. Science and technology are essential components of modern society. Science
and technology indicate what can happen, not what should happen. The latter
involves human decisions about the use of knowledge.

2. Understanding basic concepts and principles of science and technology
should precede active debate about the economics, policies, politics, and ethics
of various challenges related to science and technology.

3. Progress in science and technology can be affected by social issues and
challenges.

STANDARD 7: HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE

As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students will develop
understanding of science as a human endeavor, the nature of scientific
knowledge, and historical perspectives.

Benchmark 1: Students will develop an understanding that science is a
human endeavor.

Indicators: The students will:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of science as both vocation and avocation.

3. Recognize the universality of basic science concepts and the influence of
personal and cultural beliefs that embed science in society.

4. Recognize that society helps create the ways of thinking (mindsets)
required for scientific advances, both toward training scientists and the
education of populace to utilize benefits of science (e.g., standards of
hygiene, attitudes toward forces of nature, etc.).

5. Recognize society's role in supporting topics of research and determining
institutions where research is conducted.

Benchmark 2: Students will develop an understanding of the nature of
scientific knowledge

Indicators: The students will:

10 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge.

Examples: Scientific knowledge is generally empirically
based, consistent with reality, predictive, logical, and is skeptical.
Scientific knowledge is subject to experimental or observational confirmation.
Scientific knowledge is built on past understanding and can be refined and added
to.

Benchmark 3: Students will understand science from historical
perspectives.

Benchmark: A focused statement of what students should know
and be able to do in a subject at specified grade levels.

Curriculum: A particular way that content is organized and
presented in the classroom. The content embodied in the Kansas Science
Education Standards can be organized and presented in many ways through
different curricula. Thus, the Kansas Science Education Standards do
not constitute a state curriculum. However, a specific science curriculum chosen
by a school district will be consistent with these standards only if it is
consistent with the premises upon which these standards are based (e.g., science
for all, equity, developmental appropriateness).

Equity: Within the context of these standards, equity means
that these standards apply to all students, regardless of age, gender, cultural
or ethnic background, disabilities, aspirations, or interest and motivation in
science.

Example (Clarifying): An illustration of the meaning or
intent of an indicator.

Example (Instructional): An activity or specific concrete
instance of an idea of what is called for by an indicator.

Indicator: A specific statement of what students should know
or be able to do as a result of a daily lesson or unit of study and how they
will demonstrate what they have learned.

Standard: A description of what students are expected to
know and be able to do in a particular subject.

Evolution-Biological: A scientific theory that accounts for
present day similarity and diversity among living organisms and changes in
non-living entities over time. With respect to living organisms, evolution has
two major perspectives: The long-term perspective focuses on the branching of
lineages; the short-term perspective centers on changes within lineages. In the
long term, evolution is the descent with modification of different lineages from
common ancestors. In the short term, evolution is the on-going adaptation of
organisms to environmental challenges and changes.

Evolution-Cosmological: With respect to non-living entities,
evolution accounts for sequences of natural stages of development. Such
sequences are a natural consequence of the characteristics of matter and energy.
Stars, planets, solar systems, and galaxies are examples.

Evolution-Macroevolution: Evolution above the species level.
The evolution of higher taxa and the product of evolutionary novelties such as
new structures (May, 1991). Macroevolution continues the genetic mechanisms of
microevolution and adds new considerations of extinction, rate and manner of
evolution, competition between evolving units, and other topics relevant to
understanding larger scale evolution.

Evolution-Microevolution: The processes (mostly genetics)
that operate at the population level: natural selection, genetic drift, gene
flow, and others. These processes may produce speciation, the splitting off of
new reproductively isolated species.

Gamete: A germ cell (egg or sperm) carrying half of the
organism's full set of chromosomes, especially a mature germ cell capable of
participating in fertilization.

Genetic Drift: Changes in the gene content of a population
owing to chance.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of an individual,
especially as distinguished from its physical appearance.

Hypothesis: A testable statement about the natural world
that can be used to build more complex inferences and explanations.

Incremental: Within the context of these standards,
incremental means that scientists slowly and consistently add to the knowledge
base of science by means of scientific work.

Inquiry: Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in
which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the
evidence derived from their work. Inquiry also refers to the activities of
students in which they develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas,
as well as an understanding of how scientists study the natural world. Inquiry
is a multifaceted activity that involves many process skills. Conducting
hands-on science activities does not guarantee inquiry, nor is reading about
science incompatible

with inquiry.

Inquiry in School Science (K-4): Full inquiry involves
asking a simple question, completing an investigation, answering the question,
and presenting the results to others. However, not every activity will involve
all of these stages nor must any particular sequence of these stages be
followed.

Inquiry in School Science (5-8): Full
inquiry involves several parts. Identification of questions that can be answered
through scientific investigations. The design and conduct of a scientific
investigation. Use of appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and
interpret data. Development of descriptions, explanations, predictions and
models using evidence. Thinking critically and logically to make relationships
between evidence and explanations. Partial inquiries focus the development of
abilities and understanding of selected parts of full inquiry.

Inquiry in School Science (9-12): Full
inquiry includes several components. Identification of questions and concepts
that guide scientific investigations. The design and conduct of scientific
investigations. Use of technology and mathematics to improve investigations and
communication. Formulation and revision of scientific explanations and models
using logic and evidence. Recognition and analysis of alternative explanations
and models. Partial inquiries focus the development of abilities and
understanding of selected parts of full inquiry.

Law: Laws are descriptive, not prescriptive; laws are
statements of observed behavior which is so regular that exceptions are not
known. Nature does not follow laws; laws describe how Nature behaves.

Material: The elements, constituents, or substances of which
something is composed or can be made,

Operational Definition: The assignment of meaning to a
concept or variable in which the activities or operations required to measure it
are specified. Operational definitions also may specify the scientist's
activities in measuring or manipulating a variable.

Paradigm: A universally recognized theoretical framework in
science that, for a time, provides a model for asking questions and seeking
answers through science.

Phenotype: The appearance of an individual, including the
biochemical traits expressed internally. The genotype may contain genes that are
not expressed in the phenotype.

Principle: Similar to a scientific law. A principle
frequently, but not always, is a qualitative or descriptive generalization about
how some aspect of the natural world behaves under stated circumstances.

Properties: Descriptions of objects based directly on the
senses (e.g., hard, soft, smooth) or through extended use of the senses (an atom
contains a nucleus).

Qualitative: The concept that entities differ between each
other in type or kind.

Quantitative: The concept that entities differ between each
other in amount.

Science: The human activity of seeking natural explanations
for what we observe in the world around us. These explanations are based on
observations, experiments, and logical arguments that adhere to strict empirical
standards and a healthy skeptical perspective.

Science Literacy: The scientific knowledge and inquiry
skills which enhance a person's ability to observe objects and events
perceptively, reflect on them thoughtfully, and comprehend explanations offered
for them.

Technology: A science-based activity in which humans start
with initial conditions, then design, build, and implement an intervention that
improves the world about us in terms of our original needs (e.g., eye glasses or
contacts).

Theory: In science, a well-substantiated explanation of some
aspect of the natural world that can incorporate observations, laws, inferences,
and tested hypotheses (e.g., atomic theory, evolutionary theory).

Understand: To possess a meaningful comprehension of a
concept or process based on direct or related experiences. Understanding stands
in contrast to memorization, where there is only awareness of a term but no
grasp of meaning.

Appendix 2

This diagram illustrates the connections between
science standards, how they relate to the unifying concepts, how they are
connected with other subject areas, and how they are related to the real world.
When teachers use the whole picture as they teach, they provide students with
more opportunity to learn, understand, and see the relevance of science, thus
promoting not only an informed electorate, but also students who are motivated
to be lifelong learners.

Standards

Content standards in the life, physical, and
earth/space sciences are often closely related. as are the other standards, and
the connections need to be made by teachers to provide a better understanding of
science. Inquiry as a standard is in the center of the diagram and shows that it
is an integral part of all the others. Science is much more than a body of
information, it is a process of discovery. Through the discovery process,
students can learn the content of the standards and understand it.

Unifying Concepts

To help show the relationships between the
standards, teachers use unifying concepts to provide the umbrella for the
integration of science topics. These serve to unite the standards and allow
students to grasp the concepts that exist across all of the content standards.
Using unifying concepts, students see the linkages across the science areas, and
recognize the big picture of science, rather that just one small isolated part.

Connections With Other Subject Areas

Science plays a significant role in other
curricular areas as well. For example, students should be able to apply the same
knowledge involved in solving an algebraic problem to balancing chemical
equations. Students in a science lab could determine how a musical instrument
creates its particular sounds. By applying their knowledge of physics, within
the unifying concepts, students can solve such musical problems. While the same
concepts apply to more than one subject area, education has not traditionally
linked the various curricular areas.

Real World Applications

The most effective way to teach students about
science is to make it relevant to them by showing that what they learn in the
classroom has direct application to the world. For example, students at one
Kansas school learned some of their most meaningful science lessons when they
teamed with a local corporation. As a part of this school-business partnership,
students were brought to the job site and were given the task of creating a
specific machine component. Using information provided to them, and generating
their own information, they designed, created, and produced the new machine
component and demonstrated to company officials how the product worked.

Appendix 3

Scientific Thinking Process

Appendix 4 PROCESS SKILLS

(taken from the Kansas Curricular Standards
in Science, 1995)

The processes of science are skills that are
essential to developing knowledge. concepts. and applications across the
curriculum. The processes are often referred to as the "hands-on"
approach to science and must be used throughout the program. Each of the terms
implies active student participation and has been adapted from the following
post-Sputnik science curricula: Elementary Science Study, Science-A Process
Approach, Science Curriculum Improvement Study.

Observing: Using the senses to
gather information about objects and events in the environment. This skill
includes using scientific instruments to extend the range of the human senses
and the ability to differentiate relevant from non-relevant events.

Classifying: A method for
establishing order on collections of objects or events. Students use
classification systems to identify objects or events, to show similarities,
differences, and inter-relationships. It is important to realize that all
classification systems are subjective and may change as criteria change. The
test for a good classification system is whether others can use it.

Measuring: A procedure for
using instrument to determine the length, area, volume, mass, or other physical
properties of an unknown quantity. It requires the proper use of instruments and
the ability to calculate the measured results.

Using Numbers: This skill
includes number sense, computation, estimation, spatial sense, and whole number
operations.

Communicating: Transmitting the
results of observations and experimental procedures to others through the use of
such devices as graphs, charts, tables, written descriptions,
telecommunications, oral presentations, etc. Communication is fundamental to
science, because it is through the exchange of ideas and results of experiments
that knowledge is validated by others.

Questioning: The formulation of
original questions based on observations and experiences with an event in such a
way that one can experiment to seek the answers.

Relating: In the sciences,
information about relationships can be descriptive or experimental.
Relationships are based on logical arguments that encompass all data.
Hypothetical reasoning, deductive reasoning, coordinate graphing, the managing
of variables, and the comparison of effects of one variable upon another
contribute to understanding the "big" ideas of science.

Inferring: An inference is a
tentative explanation that is based on partial observations. Available data are
gathered and a generalization is made based on the observed data. These
judgments are never absolute and reflect what appears to be the most probable
explanation at the time and are subject to change as new data are accumulated.

Predicting: Using previously
observed information to make possible decisions about future events. Formulating
Hypotheses: Stating a probable outcome for some occurrence based on many
observations and inferences. The validity of the hypothesis is determined from
testing by one or more experiments.

Identifying and Controlling Variables: Determining
which elements in a given investigation will vary or change and which ones will
remain constant. Ideally, scientists will attempt to identify all the variables
before an investigation is conducted. By manipulating one variable at a time
they can determine how that variable will affect the outcome.

Collecting and Interpreting Data:
The information collected in order to answer questions is referred to as data.
Interpreting data includes using information to make inferences and predictions
and then to form hypotheses. This includes developing skills in communicating
statistical statements about the data in the form of mode, mean, median, range,
and average deviation.

Experimenting: This process is
the culmination of all the science process skills. Experimentation often begins
with observations which lead to questions that need answers. The steps for
proceeding may include formulating a hypothesis, identifying and controlling
variables, designing the procedure for conducting tests, implementing the test,
collecting and interpreting the data and sometimes changing the hypothesis being
tested.

Applying: The process of
inventing, creating, problem solving, and determining probabilities are
applications of using knowledge to discover further information.

Constructing Models: Developing
physical or mental representations to explain an idea, object, or event. Models
are usually developed in the basis of acceptable hypotheses.

Appendix 5

BIBLIOGRAPHY

American Association for the Advancement of
Science Project 2061 (1993). Benchmarks for Science Literacy, New York:
Oxford University Press.

American Association for the Advancement of
Science Project 2061 (1990). Science for All Americans, New York Oxford
University Press.

National Academy of Sciences (1998). Teaching
About Evaluation and the Nature of Science. Washington, DC: National Academy
Press.

National Science Teachers Association (1996). Pathways
to the Science Standards-High School Edition.

Washington, DC: NSTA.

National Science Teachers Association (1997). Pathways
to the Science Standards-Elementary School Edition.

Washington, DC: NSTA.

National Science Teachers Association (1998).
Pathways to the Science Standards-Middle School Edition.

Washington, DC: NSTA.

U.S. Department of Education (1997). Attaining
Excellence: A Resource Kit for the Third International Science and
Mathematics Study.

Washington, DC: U.S. Dept of Education Office of
Educational Research and Improvement.

1. Understand: "Understand" does not mandate
"belief." While students may be required to understand some concepts
that researchers use to conduct research and solve practical problems, they may
accept or reject the scientific concepts presented. This applies particularly
where students' and/or parents' religion is at odds with science. See Teaching
About Evolution and the Nature of Science, National Academy of Sciences,
1998, page 59.